The popularity of small, handheld computing devices has grown steadily in recent years. The devices go by different names, including palmtops, pocket computers, personal digital assistants, and the like. In this disclosure, this class of computing devices is generally referred to as "handheld personal computers," or "H/PCs".
H/PCs are small, pocket-sized devices having an LCD (liquid crystal display) with a touch-sensitive screen, a miniature QWERTY keyboard, and a stylus. H/PCs are capable of running an operating system and one or more applications on the operating system. Microsoft Corporation recently released the Windows.RTM. CE operating system for use on H/PCs. Windows.RTM. CE which is a scaled-down version of its popular Windows.RTM. operating systems for personal computers.
Arguably the most desirable characteristic of H/PCs is their portability. H/PCs provide real computer-like applications--such as e-mail, scheduling, PIM (personal information management), spreadsheet, word processing--within a compact, portable device. Unfortunately, portability comes at the expense of certain design compromises.
Chief among the design compromises is an undersized keyboard. While the H/PC offers a complete QWERTY keyboard, it is miniaturized to satisfy the form factor requirements of H/PCs. Although the keyboard is serviceable for relatively small amounts of text entry, it is not as effective as a full-size keyboard. Most users cannot place both hands on the miniature keyboard in a normal home-row typing fashion, and enter data in conventional fashion. Instead, most users must enter data one character at a time, using a less preferred "hunt-and-peck" data entry method.
In view of this problem, it would be advantageous to develop a way to use a full-size keyboard in conjunction with an H/PC.
One possible solution is to take advantage of the IR (infrared) port implemented in most, if not all, H/PCs. Namely, the user employs an IR keyboard to enter data directly into the IR port of the H/PC. IR keyboards have existed for some time, although personal computers that use them require specialized design to receive the IR signals. The drawback of IR keyboards is that they are expensive. In addition, they are not conducive for portability and hence defeat the entire rational for owning a small portable H/PC. No traveling H/PC user would want to carry a full-size IR keyboard.
Accordingly, there remains a need to develop a solution which allows use of a full-size keyboard with an H/PC.